Source parameters and rupture velocity of smallM≤ 2.1 reservoir induced earthquakes

Abstract

We calculate stress drop and rupture speed for ML ≤ 2.1 shallow reservoir induced earthquakes and find them to be similar to those of large, natural earthquakes. Previous studies have suggested that hydrofractures, mining and reservoir-induced earthquakes have lower average stress drop than natural tectonic earthquakes. This difference might result from the different tectonic setting or the shallower hypocentral depths of induced earthquakes. Alternatively, difficulties in correcting for attenuation and site effects in earlier studies may lead to underestimation of stress drop. In addition, most studies assume the rupture velocity of small reservoir induced earthquakes to be the same as for the large earthquakes. We analyse a set of 101 ML ≤ 2.1 earthquakes induced by changing water level in the Açu Reservoir, NE Brazil. The earthquakes are shallow, (depth <5 km) and the region has negligible natural seismicity. We use three different approaches to calculate the source parameters of the six largest (1.9 ≤ ML ≤ 2.1) earthquakes. We model the individual spectra to find corner frequency, frequency-independent Q, and long period amplitude. We use collocated small earthquakes as empirical Green's functions to calculate the spectral ratios, and determine the relative source time functions. Estimates of the source duration and corner frequency imply stress drops in the range of 26–179 MPa. These are similar to, or higher than tectonic earthquakes suggesting that the shallow hypocentral depth and the presence of water do not affect stress drop. We observe clear directivity for one of the earthquakes, and use the azimuthal variation in pulse width to estimate a rupture velocity of ≥0.6β.